Kasino Will Tries to Rise and Shine In Syracuse. It’s Hard Work. Pray For Him.

Random email submission time. Pouring through the countless emails we get, we stopped at Kasino Will’s Sonicbids EPK submission. Normally, we’re on the fence about Sonicbids EPKs, while they are thorough and generally a sign that an artist is serious about their craft, it’s also a bit sterile, as there is no personal message, and we like to feel loved.

So, we flagged it, and passed it over to clean up more of our insane inbox. Then we saw a separate email from Kasino Will. Not much of a pitch, a few of sentences, who he is, where he was from, and three songs attached, from his self-release debut album Time II Cash In. We figured after seeing his emails twice in one sitting, we should check out what Kasino Will got going on up in the ‘Cuse, especially since we don’t get as much opportunity to cover upstaters as we would like.

We’ll keep it brief. First song we checked, “Rise and Shine” wasn’t bad, and gave us hope. An upbeat tempo, the song could be club-friendly, sounds well-produced. Kasino Will flows well, lyrics are a little cliche, you know, we grind, we make money, we be in the club doing it, that kind of talk, but stylistically, it’s done well, so it’s definitely listenable. Singing on the hook compliments well. Thumbs up.

“Hard Work” was a buzzkill. A shaky attempt at a Southern/synthy bounce track with a rambunctious chorus, with a little harder lyrical edge. The track did nothing for us. Of course, we’re not partial to a “Southern” sound, but don’t get us wrong, if a “Southern” sounding track is dope, it’s dope. “Hard Work,” to us, just fell way short.

So, 1-1 for Kasino Will in our eyes/ears. “Pray For Me” would have to be the tiebreaker. Instantly our ears perked up, but we’re a sucker for melancholy piano tracks. This one started nice and smooth, and as it went a long, we noticed the lyrics were a little more introspective, a little more personal. Kasino Will was telling, it seems, a bit of his back story, with a female solemnly singing on the hook, and was more our speed. We would have liked to hear a little more varying in Kasino Will’s vocal tone, but the song was enough to help tip the trilogy in Kasino Will’s favor.

Overall, Kasino Will seems to be purposefully touching several styles, musically and lyrically, and except for “Hard Work,” does pretty well on both counts. With a voice a bit reminiscent of a lisp-less Kool G. Rap, and a flow that fits in the music spacing well, you might want to consider cashing in on Kasino Will’s debut.

For more information, or to purchase Time II Cash In, visit kasinowill.blogspot.com.

Kasino Will – Rise and Shine
[audio:kw-rise.mp3]

Kasino Will – Hard Work
[audio:kw-hard.mp3]

Kasino Will – Pray For Me
[audio:kw-pray.mp3]